


Castles and Chaos

by Risahn



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Catra is good and doesn't realize it half the time, Catra's POV, Drabble, Gen, implied catradora, just post-series Bright Moon antics, something like DnD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28445418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Risahn/pseuds/Risahn
Summary: Catra is getting used to the Perpetually Friendly Brigade, one way or another.A short look at post-series Catra's inclusion into the group.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 61





	Castles and Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this short drabble as a way to destress, hope it brings you some joy.

Catra was not interested in the weekly Castles and Chaos games. Recreational activities were an alien concept to her, especially cooperative ones. Moving into Bright Moon with the Perpetually Friendly Brigade, game nights were one of the biggest annoyances to overcome. And she _had_ to overcome it, refused to be defeated by a measly group bonding exercise.

That’s how she found herself sitting at the war room table, surrounded by princesses and regretting her life choices.

“I cast Understanding, allowing me to empathize and emotionally support the three-headed dog.” Understanding? Is that an actual attack move?

“Do you roll to hit?” _What?_

“No, my new friend has to make a Charisma saving throw.” What’s a saving throw?

"Alright, let me roll for it..." Perfuma waited for Adora's response. She threw down a 20-sided die and announced questioningly, "...19?”

Perfuma looked excited, but Catra couldn’t get why a 19 was such a good number. “It hits!”

Adora, the lovable control-freak, was the one narrating the little game. Bow was really proud of all his tiny dolls, which were laid out on the table according to some sort of... strategy. Catra understood that the grid had to do with how far they could move, but… that was all. Even she had a little figurine (Bow had called it _adorable_ , how gross) but she was twirling it between her fingers, having not yet joined the game - and she planned to keep it that way.

Everyone else already knew how to play. Everyone else already had characters with special powers. She had no idea how to join them, even if she wanted to – which she _didn’t_. Glimmer had helped her make a character or whatever, but she didn’t understand all the numbers on her paper or how to attack something at the right time.

She hoped she could just watch forever and never really have to participate. At least that way they largely ignored her and wouldn’t fawn over her, like every other little thing she does that isn’t pure evil.

“The three-headed dog feels supported and less inclined to attack you,” Adora narrates, smiling happily that Perfuma succeeded with her stupid little check. “It sits on the ground and looks around, wondering why his two brethren are still attacking. He’s currently no longer a threat. Next is… Mermista!”

“I approach the dog by me and cast… Beast Talk, or whatever. It lets me get a beast to do stuff for me.”

“Sure. What roll is it?”

“The doggy needs to make a Wisdom check, I guess.”

“He rolls a… 14. Does he pass?”

“No, he succumbs to my superior wisdom. He is mine to control.”

“Well, I mean,” Glimmer interrupted. Mermista rolled her eyes. “You can tell him to do _one_ thing, and that thing can’t threaten his life.”

“I don’t even want to threaten his life. He’s a dog, Glimmer, do you think I’m a monster?”

“I’m just making sure you know the rules–”

“It’s _my_ spell, obviously I know the rules–”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Adora commanded a lot of authority in this stupid little game. Glimmer and Mermista stopped talking immediately and looked nervously at Adora. Since she was the narrator, she got to make all the rules, including the punishments for players who weren’t being cooperative or something. At least _she_ had something somewhat interesting to do. “Mermista, what will you have the beast do?”

“I want him to be my noble, terrifying stead. Forever.”

“Like I said, _one thing_!”

The game continued like this for quite some time, long enough that Catra was getting hungry. Glancing around, everyone else seemed too caught up in interrogating some random guy they found in this dumb dungeon (now _that_ Catra could do), so she figured she'd slip away to grab a snack.

No one even looked her way as she snuck out of her chair, opened the massive, heavy door, and slipped out into the hallway. She frowned at Adora, who was busy consulting three different books and also didn’t look Catra’s way. Whatever.

A nearby guard helped Catra find the kitchens, even though she’d already successfully found the place plenty of times. Most of the Princesses just ask guards for food, not really coming to get it for themselves. They were used to being waited on by guards, those from Bright Moon or their respective kingdoms. Catra was different, still felt uncomfortable asking for things here and preferred to do things herself. Besides, all it took was one vengeful guard poisoning a snack for her to die at the hands of her past-enemies-now-reluctant-roommates-and-maybe-more-than-acquaintances.

In the kitchen the air was sweet, and she followed her nose to a tray of cooling sweet buns. She scarfed down two and chugged a glass of milk. She nosed around the pantry and grabbed fruits, breads, cheeses, more sweet buns, and a few miniature cakes.

Adora had laughed when Catra first ate non-provisions, said she’d made the same face when she ate something delicious for the first time. They'd joked that if someone had given her outside food, maybe Catra would’ve defected sooner.

Without thinking much about what she was doing, distracted by visions of Adora’s cute food-eating face, Catra loaded up her pilfered food and some cups in a basket, grabbed a pitcher of fruit juice, and carried it all out of the kitchen. Absently eating yet another sweet bun, she ignored the curious glances of guards as she walked back to the war room. Hoping she could slip in unnoticed again, she was annoyed when Entrapta perked up almost immediately.

“I smell tiny food.” She eyed Catra’s basket, which caught everyone else’s attention.

Catra hadn’t even realized that this food wasn’t for her, but for everyone else. She’d already eaten three sweet buns and wasn’t particularly hungry anymore. She’d gotten this food _for them_? Subconsciously? Ugh, gross, she was going _soft_.

“Take it,” she bit out, setting the basket and pitcher in front of Entrapta with more force than was probably necessary. Some juice splashed on one of her papers, but no one seemed to care. “Pass it around or something, I don’t care.”

She hadn’t realized how low energy the group had been until they were all cheering up at the prospect of a snack break. The chatter became friendly, no longer strategic and serious. Mermista appologized to GLimmer for being something called... hangry. Bow called over a guard to ask for even more food, but Catra wasn’t insulted. He asked for chicken, after all, and Catra… really enjoyed chicken.

When she sat back down, Adora caught her eye. Her smile was sweet as usual, but Catra didn’t feel uncomfortable as she usually did when this happened around others. Instead, she just felt… happy.

(She still didn’t want to play this dumb game, though. Not yet, anyway.)


End file.
